Does everyone get 1200 calories????

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AngieMMc
AngieMMc Posts: 152 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I notice a LOT of comments that "I get 1200 calories". I have read the newbie stuff and I know its supposed to be dependent upon how you answered the questions in the beginning, but I am wondering........I weigh over 200 lbs; sedentary lifestyle, aside from when I get extra food b/c i work out, is 1200 calories enough to keep my metabloism from plummeting?
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  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    I weigh 140 and I manually set mine at 1480.... and I started losing more weight than when I was at 1200.... You can definately adjust it up and be fine.
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
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    i weigh 238 and have 1800 ...
  • downtome
    downtome Posts: 529 Member
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    I tried eating 1200 calories, I just couldn't do it. I set myself to 1450 a day, MFP had me at 1390 so not much of a difference, but this seems to be working out just fine for me. I personally think 1200 cal. a day is too low but many seem to be ok with that. If you can do it and not feel hungry or deprived then it's fine for you. Also if you are eating back your exercise calories then that will give you more food as well. Good luck!
  • maurita17
    maurita17 Posts: 11
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    How do you determine what works best for you? how did you decide on 1480?
    i am wondering what my proper number should be. i am 155 lbs 5'4 wanting to drop to like 125
  • angiesteele
    angiesteele Posts: 366 Member
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    i weighed 221 when i started and it gave me 1200
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    It manually sets everyone at 1200 because MFP generalizes it. and 1200 is the lowest anyone can go. It estimates your maintenece levels and then subtracts a deficit to lose weight. Chances are you burn more calories than it is saying you do to maintain your weight, so chances are you can bump your calories up. ESPECIALLY if you are hungry alllllll the time. That is your bodys way of saying that you need to feed it more, although you have to learn to notice the difference between hunger pains and cravings.
  • MochaMixAZ
    MochaMixAZ Posts: 844 Member
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    I get 1900 due to my current weight , my weekly weight loss goal, and my activity. It should be very personalized, and MFP will calculate that for you if you answer the initial questions accurately.
  • paigebeverly
    paigebeverly Posts: 46 Member
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    MFP has my calories at 1490...but I find it hard somedays to get 1200. But it has worked for me so far.....I have lost more weight using this site than just doing it on my own.
  • mlemonroe2
    mlemonroe2 Posts: 603
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    If you set your weight loss goal at 2 pounds a week, your calories allowd are 1200. If you set your weight loss goal at 1 pound a week your calorie amount goes up.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,738 Member
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    How do you manually set your goal?
  • kimmerroze
    kimmerroze Posts: 1,330 Member
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    How do you determine what works best for you? how did you decide on 1480?
    i am wondering what my proper number should be. i am 155 lbs 5'4 wanting to drop to like 125


    1480 was my BMR... which is the minimal amount of calories needed to survive if I were in a coma... or sleeping all day... its your survival calories.... you can go to tools and click on the BMR and then figure out yours. and adjust it up to your BMR levels... this is still below your maintenece... and any deficit below your maintenece will make you lose wieght...
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
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    Restriction gets me no where fast. I'm happy as long as I'm under 2000 cals for the day. Slow & Steady will win this race.
  • kmtetour
    kmtetour Posts: 300 Member
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    I'm about 260 and I get 1960. I had more when I weighed more. MFP asks you if you want to readjust after every 10 pounds lost.
  • Loveebbs
    Loveebbs Posts: 300 Member
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    I am 178 pounds and my MFP is set at 1510
  • AreneeS22
    AreneeS22 Posts: 42 Member
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    MFP gave me 1630
  • txchic_73
    txchic_73 Posts: 139 Member
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    I was just wondering the same thing! I am set at 1200 as well, and know many ppl set at the same and we all are at different weights. I need to lose 20lbs so I wonder if it is all set to what you want to lose not what you weigh. But I am not seeing alot of results from just my calorie intake.
  • skinimin
    skinimin Posts: 252 Member
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    I weigh 48kg and MFP gave me 1200 calories. For me this is enough for three filling meals and two or three snacks (depending on how low cal those snacks are) soooo I think you might starve on 1200 in the beginning!! Haha
  • Goal_Seeker_1988
    Goal_Seeker_1988 Posts: 1,619 Member
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    My maintain weight 145 is 1960 calories. When I had it set to lose weight weighin 148 I was allowed 1480 calories. Idk how it really works however, I will give it a try and see if I stay below 145. I don't understand calorie counting. Never have I lost 75lbs and kept it off for over 2.5 years without counting calories. I joined this site in hopes of becomin more aware of what I am really eating. Eatin clean is really hard to do.
  • LoserCruiser
    LoserCruiser Posts: 184
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    It gives me more than 1200 calories but I find if I eat more than 1200 calories I DON'T lose! So I stick to 1200 calories!
  • FitToBeFab
    FitToBeFab Posts: 537 Member
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    I know it won't set less than 1200 because of sending your body into starvation mode. I think 1200 is the computers fallback when people say they want to lose 2 lbs a week. That's what I've found for myself at least. I'm 195, sedentary lifestyle (stupid desk job!), and with losing 1 pound a week I get 1600, with losing 1.5 a week I get 1300, so I know if I do 2 lbs a week I'll have less than 1200.

    In answer to your question if 1200 is enough to keep your metabolism going, I'm going to say yes. When your body is in starvation mode, that's when your metabolism fails. It may slow down with that low amound of calories, so it's good to jump around. I've noticed I sometimes lose more on weeks that I was under my goal every day but one (where I went over by like 800), than when I hit my goal every day or go over by only 10 cals. Does that make sense?

    You have to keep your body guessing, otherwise it gets used to what your throwing at it and doesn't work as hard.

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